VZN: Virtual Zombie Nightmare
by AndrewK9000
Summary: While testing out a new gamming system, The Ramblers must find and stop a cyber terrorist before a virus deletes several members. Inspired by Resident Evil 4 and The Matrix trilogy.
1. Chapter 1: Game Start

Greeting fellow readers and writers! This is my 15th story so enjoy! Once again we enter the world of those brave fighters all things evil, The Ramblers. Now this story contains elements of The Matrix trilogy and the Resident Evil game series, none of which I own so don't sue me.

Be warned though, this story isn't for the faint of heart. If you happen to suffer from a weak heart, or are easily frightened, stop reading this story right now.

I see you're still reading. This is your last warning. I cannot take responsibility for what may happen to you as a result of reading this terror filled fic. For your own safety, please click to another page right now.

So you really think you have what it takes to survive this fic. Very well, but don't say I didn't warn you. Brace yourself for…

**VZN: Virtual Zombie Nightmare**

**By AndrewK9000**

Chapter 1: Game Start

There are those who say that genius is the ability to go from point A to point D, without going through points B and C. Albert Einstein could have easily gone straight to point G.

In this modern world there are a handful of individuals who can go from point A, all the way to point S in no time flat. One of them is Violet Baudelaire. The other is Virgil Blake. Both are Meta-Human, and both work for The Bureau of Paranormal Research and defense.

Both of them are different in many ways. Violet has a loving boyfriend, while Virgil is a loner. Violet is mostly even tempered, while Virgil tends to lose his cool often. But there's one major common factor linking these two Meta-Humans; they both use their advanced minds to benefit the human race.

This story is about one of their projects that went horribly wrong. Not of their own fault, of course. But even the best of projects are influenced by outside forces.

It all started one day in June of the year 2008. Virgil and Violet were finishing their latest invention, one that would revolutionize the gaming world. "One more circuit to connect," said Virgil, "and we'll be on the fast track to riches!"

"We're not doing this just for the money," said Violet, "Just think of the applications; not only will the military benefit from our work, but it can also advance education methods. With this you'll never have to sit through another boring history lecture again."

"Oh I already knew about the military and educational applications," said Virgil as he finished the final circuit, "But I'm mostly interested in the economical applications. I've given The Bureau some of the best years of my life. I deserve more than what I'm getting in my paycheck. As soon as I can get this declassified, I'm going to sell this little wonder to the public. In less than a year I'll be a multi-millionaire."

"Well let's see if it works as it should first," said Violet. She then paged her fellow members of The Ramblers to come down to the lab where she and Virgil were working.

The Ramblers were formed in 1999 when word reached The Bureau that the Y2K problem was a front for a demonic invasion. 8 Meta-Humans were picked to battle the demons before they could invade the world. Of those 8, only 4 are still alive. The are:

Max Kildare from Baltimore. As leader of the team, Max was born with the ability to instantly heal any wound inflicted on his body, making him all but indestructible. Max is also one of the most physically strong individuals on the planet. He can easily lift 50 metric tones with one hand without breaking a sweat. Yet despite his strength, Max thinks himself a gunslinger, he prefers to use his revolvers in a fight, before using his fists.

Next in The Ramblers is Leon Smyth-Falcon from New Orleans. Leon is a natural with Voodoo magic. With a single hair or a scrap of clothing he can take control of someone's body. He's also quite a fast runner. His talents has lately earned him the nickname 'Voodoo Child.'

The other two survivors of the original 8 are Andrew Carpenter and Jill Sparrow. Andrew is a natural with explosives. He can build and disarm a bomb in no time flat, earning him the nickname 'Demolition Man.' Jill is said to be descended from pirates, naturally making her favorite weapon a cutlass. Jill and Andrew were friends from the beginning, then very close friends, then lovers, and most recently, married.

Andrew and Jill were still on their honeymoon, so Leon and Max were the only ones from the original 8 to be there that day. Most of the rest of the team were there in The Bureau to witness the unveiling of Virgil and Violet's latest creation. They are:

Julie Eckheart, a natural with a riffle. Her talents, plus her hawk-like eyes, earned her the nickname 'Hawkeye.'

Laura Hurst is quite possibly the most powerful telekinetic person in the world, in terms of raw power. Her abilities are at their strongest when she is angry, but too much anger has caused Laura to create dangerous rips in the fabric of reality.

Steve Austin is almost as powerful as Max in terms of shear strength, but his skill in martial arts is superior. Perhaps his prowess in fighting makes up for his lack of common sense, for there are times when Steve acts like he has no brain. He and Virgil loathe each other for several reasons.

Michael Long, a former bounty hunter, is a natural sword-fighter. He uses twin energy blades, one green, and the other blue.

Simon, 'D.P.' Brotonoononowluski, a native of New Jersey, also possesses superior strength. On a previous mission his right arm was ripped out from the socket, so Virgil made a metal arm to replace the lost one. D.P.'s new arm works almost as well as his old one.

Dr. Aaron Spartan, MD, and his younger brother Tyler. The two brothers are geniuses in their respective fields. Aaron is a medical doctor how has studied nearly every field of medicine known to man, and a few other methods unknown to mortal man.

Tyler specializes in metallurgy and electronics. He invented a electronic suit of armor that collapses into his white vest. Recently, Tyler returned from Bangkok, where he was studying Muay Thai martial arts, more on that later.

Fay Valentine, knife expert. Infamously known as 'The Butcher of Boston,' Fay has a habit of acting recklessly in the heat of battle.

Alec Parkman and Denise Yeager were part of a different Bureau in a parallel Earth. That Earth has since been destroyed, but not before suffering a decade of chaos, death and destruction. Alec can become invisible, while Denise has super strength.

Finally there was Violet's younger brother, Klaus. The second Baudelaire child has the rare mental ability to remember every single word he's ever read. He is more than Violet's brother; he's her favorite guinea pig when it comes to testing out her inventions. We'll talk about Violet's other sibling, Sunny, later.

"So is this everyone?" asked Virgil as he took off his wraparound sunglasses to clean them, revealing his cybernetic eyes. Virgil's real eyes were burned out by demon worshipers on Halloween night, 2004. Everyone was used to the metal eyes by now.

"Andrew and Jill aren't due back from Niagara Falls until tomorrow afternoon," said Leon, his voice carrying a medium New Orleans drawl.

"And Maria is missing yet again," grumbled Max. Maria Van Helsing, a natural exorcist, has spent over half her career in The Bureau on various assignments dealing with demonic possession. Most of the time she shows up several days overdue, much to the displeasure of Max.

"Too bad for them and too good for you people," said Violet, "So stand back and prepare to be amazed!" She grabbed the white tarp covering the project and removed it with a flourish. Six leather reclining chairs surrounded a sophisticated looking square device. The chairs had metal helmets and electrodes, the kind that are used to take medical readings of the brain.

"Okay," said Steve, "I'm amazed. Now tell me what it is."

"Sometimes your lack of intelligence frightens me, Steve," said Virgil, "What you see is going to make the Nintendo Wii, the Play Station 3 and the Xbox 360 look like Pong. This is The Ultimate Gaming Experience, or the UGE for short."

"The device places you directly in the game," said Violet, "The helmets input the game data into the brain and the electrodes send your responses to the computer. It's like The Matrix, only without jamming a metal prong into your head."

"So," said Virgil, "Who wants to be the first to experience the future of video games?"

There was a few seconds of silence before the room was filled with shouts of "ME! ME!" and "Me First!"

Eventually six were sorted to be the first to try out the machine. Steve, Fay, Julie, Michael, Denise and Alec sat down in the chairs, while Virgil and Violet attached the equipment to their heads.

"So what are we playing?" asked Michael, "Resident Evil 4? Halo?"

"Final Fantasy?" asked Julie, "Or Kingdom Hearts 2?"

"None of the above," said Virgil, "You'll be playing a game of my own design. VZN: Virtual Zombie nightmare."

"Sounds creepy," said Fay, "I like it already."

"The object of the game is simple," said Violet as she fired up the hard drive of the machine, "Stay Alive. You'll have your choice of weapons to use against the endless hoards of walking dead. Also, you can choose what city you want as the setting for the game. You six will be separated at first, but your chances of survival will increase as you find each other.

"Once you've joined up, your challenge is to find a defendable location, someplace safe where you can hold up during the zombie uprising. At the same time you'll get extra points for saving civilians from being devoured by the ghouls."

"Cool," said Steve, Can't wait to get started."

"I'm always up for some zombie slaying," said Julie, "Real or simulated."

"I'm game!" said Denise eagerly.

"Same here," said Michael.

"Me too," said Alec, "But I've got just one question. What happens if we die in the game?"

"If you get eaten or turn into a zombie," said Virgil, "You lose the game and you wake up in the real world. You might be a bit disoriented when you wake up. The game will seem so real, you'll find yourself believing it's real at times. Of course you'll be in no real danger. I've installed safety protocols that prevent any real damage to you, physically or mentally. So relax and have fun, while being hunted by countless ghouls who are trying to eat you."

Five minutes later the six players were all hooked up to the system. They were in a dream-like state, yet totally lucid. They could communicate with the real world via a virtual cell phone.

"At this stage," said Virgil, "They're choosing what their character will look like in the game; clothing, hair style, also what weapons they'll use. They have a choice from hand guns to assault rifles to shotguns."

"The system has more than gamming applications," said Violet, "You could experience historical reenactments and other scholastic fields. Medical students can take virtual tours of living bodies. There are also the military aspects. New recruits can experience realistic battle situations."

"Like I said before," said Virgil, "We're going to be so rich!"

Violet was about to retort on how greedy Virgil was, when the main computer for the game beeped. "They've started playing," said Violet.

In the game Steve and the others had picked Philadelphia as the background for their apocalyptic adventure. He had chosen a 45 cal. Pistol as his primary weapon, with a 38-special revolver as his backup. He found himself outside Independence Hall, the steps of the building where America was born, now bloodstained. It was quite in the city of brotherly love, too quite for Steve.

There was a noise behind him, the sounds of approaching footsteps. Steve whirled around, his pistol ready to blast zombie brains all over the pavement.

"Whoa! Don't shoot! It's me!" said Denise. The Rambler from a parallel dimension had as her primary weapon an M1 Grand riffle. Her belt was full of pouches containing 8-round clips. A 4-foot length of led pipe was strapped to her back as a melee weapon.

"It looks so real," said Denise, "If I didn't know better I'd say this really was Philadelphia."

"I know," said Steve, "Me and Virgil don't get along most of the time, but you got to give hem credit when credit is due. I can't wait to start blasting ghouls."

"Looks like you've got your wish," said Denise. Three zombies were lumbering stiffly over to the two players. Taking his time Steve aimed and fired at the head of the nearest ghoul. The rotting head exploded. Denise aimed and fired at the second zombie, destroying it. Steve swiftly dispatched the third.

"This is intense," said Steve, "Virgil even got the smell of the bastards right."

"We'd better get moving," said Denise, "Our shots might attract more."

"You're right," said Steve, "We should find the others." He and Denise started walking when suddenly the environment around them flickered like an old fashion TV set would when the antenna signal was disrupted.

"What the f#ck was that?" asked Steve.

"Probably a glitch in the program," said Denise, "I'll bet there's a few bugs left in the game that need to be worked out."

Back in the real world Virgil had also noticed the brief but significant disruption in the game system. "That shouldn't have happened," he said, "Something's wrong."

"You shouldn't jump to conclusions," said Violet, "It was probably just a small power surge. We're doing this to get the kinks out of the system, that was probably one of them."

"That wasn't a damn power surge," said Virgil as he plugged his laptop into the UGE computer, "We put in triple surge protectors. No, there is something wrong going on here. Just give me a second or two."

As his laptop checked for errors in the UGE, Virgil, Violet and everyone else saw several more disruptions in the system of the game. "No!" exclaimed Virgil as his laptop finished scanning, several pop-windows appeared flashing red, "No, this isn't happening! This is not happening!!"

"What isn't happening?" asked Max.

"We've been hacked!" said Virgil, "Someone planted a virus into the UGE computer. If we don't get Julie and the others out of the game, they'll die for real!

The end of chapter 1. Next chapter, while Virgil and those on the outside try to figure out what happened, Julie, Steve and the other players find out that the game is more than a game. Reviews will be rewarded with cake, pie and juice. See you next time!


	2. Chapter 2: Hacked

Last time we saw the unveiling of Virgil and Violet's latest invention; the Ultimate Gaming Experience, or UGE for short. Steve, Michael, Alec, Julie, Fay and Denise volunteered to be the test subjects for the UGE's game, Virtual Zombie Nightmare. The six players chose Philadelphia as the backdrop of their ghoul-blasting adventure. All seemed to be going well when Virgil detected something wrong, a virus in the UGE computer. On with the show!

Chapter 2: Hacked

"A virus?" asked Max, "How could a virus get into the computer of your invention?"

"The UGE computer is hooked to the Combat Simulation Chamber's computer," said Virgil, "And that is linked to The Bureau mainframe. Someone must have hacked into the mainframe, then sent the virus to the CSC, then to the UGE."

"That doesn't make much sense," said Violet, "Why disrupt a game experiment? Why not just bring down The Bureau mainframe?"

"I'm working on why," said Virgil, "But first we need to know what this virus is doing to the machine." He and Violet ran a diagnosis on the UGE computer.

"I've just checked in with the administration level," said Leon, "Everything is alright with the rest of The Bureau. It's just this system that's been affected by the virus."

"It's like someone specifically targeted the UGE," said Laura, "Who would do that?"

"My question," said Shawn, "Is how whoever did this knew about the machine?"

"Those are questions for later," said Violet, "Who and why can wait. 'What the virus is doing?' That's most important."

"The virus could cause the computer to crash," said Virgil, "Or explode. Oh sh$t! It's worse than I thought! The safety protocols have been deactivated!"

"More like erased," said Violet, "This is one smart virus. It knew exactly which lines of code to destroy."

"If the code is gone," said Tyler, "Just rewrite it."

"The safety protocols are designed to make sure no real harm comes to the players," said Violet, "We're talking about thousands of lines of code to re-input. Whoever sent this virus knew exactly what to do to harass us."

"That does it," said Max, "This experiment is over. Turn the game off and get Julie and the others back to reality."

"It's not that simple," said Virgil, "The virus also destroyed the emergency deactivations parameters. We can't turn the game off from our end, and neither can the players from within the game. They'll have to see the game through to the end."

"Why can't we just turn the power off?" asked Aaron, "Or just remove the head gear?"

"That'll kill them," said Violet, "or do worse. If we try to manually disconnect the players from the game, their minds will be severed from their bodies. They'll die or resort to a cationic state, no better than vegetables."

"So what are our options?" asked Max.

"We have to find a way to remove the virus from the system," said Virgil, "We have to. Because the longer Steve and the others are in the game, the greater the chance of them being bitten by a virtual zombie. Without the safety protocols they could actually die form a zombie bite."

"But it's just a game," said Shawn, "How can a game kill someone?"

"What happens to the mind can have a profound effect on the body," said Violet, "We designed the game to be as real as possible. If a zombie in the game bit you, your mind would believe that it was a real bite. Eventually the bite would kill whoever was bitten. They won't turn into zombies, but they'll still be dead."

"Can we still communicate with the players?" asked Max.

Virgil checked the afflicted computer; "We still can talk to them, for now. No telling what the virus will do next."

"That's something," said Max, "If nothing, we should inform Steve and the others of the true danger they're in."

Meanwhile…

Bang! "Check it out, Julie," said Michael as he cocked his shotgun, "My sixth one already." He, Julie were outside the Philadelphia City Hall building. They were holding off any approaching ghouls, while Alec and Fay were checking for survivors within the government building.

"That's nice, Michael," said Julie as she reloaded her customized Winchester rifle, she specifically asked Virgil to add her favorite weapon into the game, "But I just finished killing number 11 for me."

"You're not going to out kill me," said Michael, "This game is mine for the winning."

"It's not just how many zombies you kill that determine who wins," said Alec and he and Fay exited the City Hall, "It's how well you play the game." Alec also had a pump-action shotgun, while Fay had a semi-automatic pistol in each hand. Several knives adorned her belt and were strapped to her legs.

"There's nobody in there," said Fay, "Nobody alive, that is."

"Where are the live ones?" asked Julie, "Virgil said one of the aspects of the game is to locate and protect survivors."

"Maybe there isn't any survivors," said Alec in a spooky voice, "Maybe we're the only people in Philadelphia with a pulse."

"They're always survivors, Alec," said Fay, "In every outbreak of walking dead, either real or simulated, there are always pockets of survivors. We just have to keep looking for them."

"Yeah," said Michael, "While at the same time, make sure that we don't get bitten."

Just then the environment flickered. "That's the fourth time it's done that," said Julie, "I hope Virgil fixes it, 'cause it's really getting annoying."

"Hey!" Steve and Denise came running up to the other four players, "Did you just see that?"

Just then a cell phone rang. Michael volunteered to keep the link to the real world, so he had a cell phone on him. "What's up back there in the real world?" he said as he answered the phone.

"Are you guys alright?" asked Virgil, "Because we've got trouble back here."

"Trouble in the real world?" asked Steve.

"Shut up!" hissed Michael, "I'm on the phone! Not you, Virgil, Steve is being an idiot."

"I can understand that," said Virgil, "Yes, we've got trouble. Those flickers in the environment of the game, well, it's bad. Someone hacked into The Bureau mainframe and planted a virus into the UGE computer. It erased the safety protocols and mess up a few other things. Long story short, if you die in the game, you're dead for real. To make matters worse, we can't get you out of the game without killing you."

"Well that sucks," said Michael, "I have to say that this sucks more than anything that has ever sucked before."

"What sucks more than anything that has ever sucked before?" asked Steve.

"Steve!" snapped Michael, "If you interrupt me one more time, I'll unscrew your head and sh$t down your neck! So just shut the f#ck up!"

"If you're done yelling at Steve," said Virgil, "I suggest you and the others stay put until we figure out how to save your lives."

"No can do," said Michael, "It's suicide to stay put. I'll call you back when we have a game plan." He hung up the phone and informed his fellow players the trouble they were in.

"You're right," said Julie, "This does suck."

"This has to be a joke," said Alec, "It's just a sick joke for us new people."

"If this was a joke," said Fay, "Why would we veterans be involved?"

"So what do we do?" asked Denise, "Do we sit on our asses and wait for the brains to figure out how to save us? Or to we keep playing?"

"If we stay put," said Michael, "We'll be overrun by zombies in no time flat. If we keep going and find a good place to hold up, we can wait it out there until Virgil figures something out."

"I'm game for playing," said Julie.

"I hate sitting around and doing nothing," said Steve, "Let's keep going."

"Me too," said Alec.

"Same here," said Fay.

"Might as well make it unanimous," said Denise, "Let's do it."

"Okay then," said Michel, "First thing's first, we find a place where we can hold up. Stay together and keep an eye on your ammo, we don't know if the virus will affect our weapons." With that the six players headed further into the zombie infested city.

The end of chapter 2. Next chapter we hear Virgil's theory on who's responsible for this whole mess. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	3. Chapter 3: Virgil’s Nemesis

Last time we learn that the virus Virgil detected erased the safety protocols for the UGE. If Michael and his fellow players die in the game, they die for real. The virus also made it impossible to remove the players from the game from the outside without killing them. In the game Michael and the others decided to keep playing and find a good place to hold up against the hordes of ghouls, while Virgil and the brains figure out a solution. On with the show!

Chapter 3: Virgil's Nemesis

"Those idiots!" exclaimed Virgil, "I told them to stay put! They're asking for trouble if they keep playing the game, a game that's rapidly spinning out of control!"

"For someone so smart," said Laura, "You sure can act dumb sometimes."

"Michael and the others have the right idea," said Max, "If they stay put, out in the open, they'll die for sure. This way they have a chance of staying alive."

"That may be so," said Virgil, "But they're dead for sure if we can't deal with the virus."

"So let's get cracking at this virus," said Violet as she tied her hair up with a ribbon.

"You'd better work fast," said Shawn as he hung up a nearby wall phone, "I just heard that Director Walker is coming down here, and she's madder than a wet hen."

Just then Patricia Walker, the new head of operations for The Bureau, burst into the lab. "What's this sh$t I've heard that we've been hacked!?!" she demanded.

"It's true," said Max, "Someone planted a virus into Virgil and Violet's new invention. Michael, Steve, Julie, Fay, Denise and Alec are trapped in the game they're playing."

Virgil and Violet then informed Patricia on the full situation. "I helped program the new mainframe for The Bureau," she said, "And so did you, Virgil. You assured me that nobody could break our encryption codes."

"I know I said that," said Virgil, "The firewall programs and anti-viruses are constantly upgrading to deal with new hacking programs and viruses. It's impossible that anyone could have broken through, yet someone did." He paused, as if in deep thought, "Unless, no, it can't be. It just can't be him."

"Can't be who?" asked Particia.

"There's only one person in the world with the brains capable of hacking into the mainframe of The Bureau," said Virgil, "other than me, and is sick enough to plant such a virus. It doesn't seem possible since last I heard the bastard was dead. I guess some rats are harder to kill than others."

"What 'choo talking 'bout, Virgil?" asked Laura.

"I think he's talking about a 'who,' not a 'what,'" said Shawn.

"Believe me when I say this, Shawn," said Virgil, "This guy is much more of a 'what' than a 'who.' Indulge me as I tell my story. The first time I saw Ryan Rosensweg was in the autumn of 1998. We were in this advanced placement school for young, advanced minds. Ryan was just as smart as I am, but with a deranged mind and a dark, twisted soul."

"Sounds like a real bastard," said Max.

"You don't know the half of it," said Virgil, "Despite Ryan's superior intellect, he would act in the most annoying way. He would say really disturbing things at really inappropriate times. In fact, in all the time I knew him, he never said anything constructive. He would talk, but never really say anything.

"At first I thought Ryan was just eccentric, like Howard Hughes. All that changed when I overheard him plotting to assassinate the president. I distinctly remember him saying out loud, in public, with several students and teachers as witnesses, 'I'm gonna kill the president.' He said that twice. Now if our school were a public education center, the teachers would have detained him and called the police, FBI and Secret Service.

"It would have done the world a great boon if Ryan was arrested that day, September 7, 2001. You all know what happened the following Tuesday, so I'll get to the point. I remember the teachers had CNN on while we scared kids were waiting for the busses to take us home. As I watched footage of the towers falling over and over again, I heard Ryan cheering the terrorists. He was chanting over and over 'we're all gonna die! We're all gonna die!'

"I wanted to kill that no good, son of a rat bitch then and there. I mean seriously, 'how dare that rat-faced bastard act un-American in this dark hour!' I thought. I knew in my heart that Ryan had something to do with the attacks. I had no proof, only instinct sharpened by pure hate. But I was absolutely sure that rat bastard was connected to the terrorists.

"It took me two years to discover that my instinct was correct. Ryan had helped the terrorists get into the country. He helped formulate the plan to hijack the planes. At that moment I made a vow to find and kill Ryan Rosensweg, no matter the cost."

"What happened then?" asked Violet, "Did you find him?"

"I did," said Virgil, "Since 9/11 I devoted nearly every waking moment to finding him. My resources were limited by money and present technology. Then in 2003 I was asked to join The Bureau. The new level of technology exposed to me overjoyed me. My one condition to joining was that I could use Bureau resources to locate a traitor to America who was connected to 9/11.

"I finally tracked Ryan down in the summer of 2004. I still had my real eyes then. Anyway, I found Ryan hiding out in the Canadian Rockies. He was broadcasting a pirate signal to cause a total collapse of the Internet. Federal agents closed in and attempted to arrest the rat. Ryan was expecting a trap, so he attempted to escape through a tunnel he dug, then cover his escape by blowing up his shack with a very large bomb. However the bomb exploded before he could get into the tunnel. All that was left of him was his right hand and his nose."

"Sounds like he died," said Max, "So what makes you sure that Ryan is behind this current mess?"

"First of all," said Virgil, "This is just the sort of thing Ryan would do. He enjoyed annoying his peers' though small nuisances. In the grand scheme of things, this virus is his idea of a prank."

"A prank?!" exclaimed Laura, the red symbols infused with her skin threatening to flash, "Our friends are in danger of being slaughtered by virtual ghouls, and you call it a prank!?!"

"I said it was Ryan's idea of a prank," said Virgil, "Moving on, that bastard is too smart to allow himself to be killed accidentally. No, now that I think about it, it'd be right up his alley to fake his own death."

"Okay," said Patricia, "Our prime suspect is Ryan Rosensweg, hacker, cyber terrorist and traitor. So how do you propose to catch him?"

"First we do something about those trapped in the game," said Virgil, "I may be able to improve their chances of staying alive longer. As for the virus, I'm still analyzing it's programming."

"We may be able to trace the path of the virus," said Violet, "Give me some time and I'll figure out where it was sent from."

"Good," said Patricia, "I don't care how you do it, just do it. Find the bastard who hacked into my Bureau, and save our people."

"Got it," said Virgil, "Just one thing though; when we catch Ryan, let me kill him. No 'reading of rights,' no trial, no prison time, just plane death."

"You catch him," said Patricia as she turned to leave the lab, "You can kill him."

"Thanks," said Virgil, "That makes me feel so much better."

"You really hate this Ryan," said Violet, "Don't you."

"I sure do," said Virgil, "But we'll worry about that when we catch him. Right now we've got players to save."

"If you don't need me," said Max, "I've got some phone calls to make. Aaron, I want a full medical team standing by in case something happens to Michael and the others."

"You can count on it," said Aaron.

Meanwhile…

"This isn't looking too good," said Fay, "This town is a mess. There's not a decently defendable building for miles. Everything's all smashed up or burned."

"We have to keep looking," said Michael, "We won't last for long out in the streets if we encounter a large group of ghouls." The players have so far run into small packs of zombies, mostly in groups of 3 to 7. But there were a lot of the small groups and ammunition was starting to run low.

"There has to be a gun shop around here," said Steve, "Or a sporting goods store, someplace where we can pick up fresh ammo."

"A police station wouldn't be bad either," said Julie, "But I'd settle for a high building with a good view of the surrounding area."

Just then Michael's cell phone rang. "What now, Virgil?" he asked, "Oh, well I guess that's good news… now that's better news. Thanks for the help, we're all counting on you and Violet to figure out how to get us out of here." He hung up.

"What's the good news?" asked Alec.

"Well the semi-good news," said Michael, "Is that Virgil thinks he knows who did this to us. The others back in the real world are working to track down the bastard."

"And the really good news?" asked Fay.

"Virgil says that, while he can't do anything to change the environment, like give us a good place to hold up, what he can do is alter our weapons so that we'll never run out of ammunition."

The players' weapons flashed for a second, signifying that they had infinite ammo. "As for me," said Michael, "Virgil sent me by two best friends." He discarded his guns for his green and blue energy swords.

"Groovy," said Steve, "Let's keep moving."

The end of chapter 3. Next chapter our hero players finally locate a good place to wait and defend themselves. But is it as safe as they want it to be? Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	4. Chapter 4:  Real

Last time we learned about Virgil's theory on who he thinks hacked The Bureau mainframe, Ryan Rosensweg, a terrorist who had connections with 9/11. Virgil told Director Walker that he'd gladly find Ryan, on the promise that he'd be the one to kill the terrorist. Meanwhile in the game Michael and his fellow players got a little help from Virgil and Violet. Michael got his energy swords, while the others got infinite ammunition. On with the show!

Chapter 4: 4 Real

"How hard is it to trace the path of a computer virus?" Laura asked Virgil.

"Depends on how smart the sender is," said Virgil, "And despite his obvious insanity, Ryan Rosensweg is one of the most brilliant software programming experts alive. I wouldn't be surprised if he made it so that it would take hours, if not days to locate the origin of the virus."

"I know a bit about this stuff," said Shawn, "A hacker will most times bounce the path of a virus off several servers in several cities. If this Ryan is as smart and crazy as you say he is, Virgil, then we could be running around the world in circles before we find the source."

"That's exactly the kind of cold, cruel bull-sh$t Ryan would pull," said Virgil, "The sooner we find where he sent the virus from, the better." With that Virgil activated a tracer program to backtrack the path of the virus.

He started in The Bureau mainframe. The path of the virus led onto a communications hub in downtown Washington D.C., then to an AOL server in Richmond, then back north to two more servers in Baltimore. Then onto Chicago, followed by Denver, Boise, Houston, St. Louis, all over America.

"This is nuts," said Violet, "How many times can you bounce a program off servers?"

"As many as you want to," said Virgil, "As long as you're delaying whoever is trying to trace you."

Just then Max came back in. "I've called Jill and Andrew. They're on their way back from Niagara Falls as we speak."

"That must suck," said Laura, "Having ones honeymoon interrupted because of work."

"I'll make it up to them somehow," said Max, "Like I'll maybe pay for an Hawaiian vacation, or something. I also called Sally-Ann Carpenter. If there's anyone who can help us find this rat-bastard terrorist, it's her."

"Julie won't like that," said Shawn, "She and Sally-Ann still have issues."

"She might not like anything for much longer," said Violet as she checked on the trapped players, "The virus is active again. It's now increasing the number of zombies in the virtual environment. Michael and the others will be overrun if they don't find somewhere to hold up and make a good defense."

Meanwhile…

"Thanks for the head's up, Violet," said Michael, "We'll be ready."

"Ready for what?" asked Alec.

"The virus just affected the game again," said Michael, "The ghouls are multiplying. We won't last much longer if we don't find shelter."

"That office building up ahead," said Julie, "Just up the block. The upper floors look intact."

The players reached the office building that Julie pointed out. The bottom three floors were a wreck with all the windows were smashed. But everything above the fourth floor seemed okay.

"This might just work out," said Michael, "Okay. The first thing we need to do is set up a defensive area. We need to either destroy or block off the stairs so that the zombies can't get to us. At the same time we need to secure the area; make sure there aren't any ghouls waiting in the building to eat us. Finally, we need to set up several fall back positions, incase our first line of defense is overrun."

With the power out the elevators were disabled, but that really didn't matter, since zombies don't know how to use elevators anyway. They made their way into the abandoned building and up to the fifth floor. The stairs were made of concrete, so destroying them was out of the question. So Michael and Denise pushed several desks against the door to the stairwell, effectively blocking that point of entry.

The other stairwells on that floor were soon located and blocked. Meanwhile Steve, Julie, Fay and Alec swept the floor for any zombies. None were found.

"Okay," said Michael, "We've secured this floor. We should check the rest of the building, just to be sure. There's two more floors, and the roof that need to be checked. We don't want any zombies sneaking up on us while our backs are turned."

Meanwhile…

"I said it before," said Violet, "And I'll say it again, this is nuts!" The path of the virus had by now been backtracked through over 70 servers in the United States, as well as 3 in Canada, 2 in Japan and 5 in Europe.

"Where is this son of a bitch?" asked Max, "It's like he's not here on the planet."

"Oh he's on the planet," said Virgil, "We just have to be patient."

Just then Andrew and Jill arrived. "This had better be good," said Jill, "The two of us were having a real good time, when Max calls us and says that we've been hacked."

"It's true," said Violet, "An old enemy of Virgil sent a virus into The Bureau mainframe and infected our latest invention. Michael, Julie, Steve, Fay, Alec and Denise are trapped in the game."

"Well that's just great," said Andrew, "What kind of sick, twisted, sadistic bastard would do this?"

"A rat," said Virgil, "A sick, twisted, sadistic, rat-bastard who's also a terrorist."

Back in the game the players were clearing the upper floors of the building. So far the place was deserted. But the players weren't taking any chances. Except for Alec, who happened to have less experience than the others in terms of walking dead scenarios.

He had just finished checking his part of the fifth floor when he felt the need to use the bathroom. Not realizing that it was all in his mind, he went to the men's room, which hadn't been cleared yet. He quickly realized his mistake, but not before the two zombies in the bathroom stalls ran at him, moaning for his flesh.

Alec managed to shoot one of the ghouls in the head, but missed the second. The zombie grabbed hold of him and bit Alec, ripping his throat out.

Michael and the others reached the bathroom just in time to see Alec fall to the floor. Julie shot the ghoul, but it was too little, too late. Alec was already drowning in his own blood.

Back in the real world the life sign monitors for Alec were going crazy. "Sh$t!" exclaimed Aaron, "I knew this was going to happen!"

"What's going on?" asked Jill.

"The safety protocols for the game have been erased," said Violet, "If any of the players die in the game, they die for real."

"He just flat-lined!" shouted Aaron, "Get him unhooked from the game!"

He and the medical team disconnected Alec from the UGE and got him on the floor. Aaron then began administering CPR. "Come on!" shouted Aaron as he tried to get Alec's heart beating and lungs breathing again, "Live, damn it! Live!"

Thirty seconds after he 'died,' Alec's heart began to beat and his lungs started to take air in. He gasped and coughed. Aaron sat back as his patient started to recover. "That was close," said Aaron, "We nearly lost him for good, but he's gonna be alright."

"Well, that was exciting," said Andrew, "I hope that doesn't happen again any time soon."

"It'll end sooner than you think," said Virgil, "I've pinpointed the origin of the virus. 17 miles northwest of Las Vegas."

"That's the middle of nowhere," said Max, "Nothing but desert all around."

"It's the perfect place for a rat like Ryan to hide in," said Virgil as his laptop printed out the exact coordinates.

"I'll get this to Homeland Security," said Max, "And I'll tell them to keep Ryan alive. I won't forget that you want to kill him, Virgil."

"I appreciate that," said Virgil, "I'd better tell Michael and the others that Alec is okay."

Back in the game Julie, Steve and the remaining players were shocked and grief stricken at Alec's sudden 'death,' when Michael's phone rang.

"What!?!" he shouted into the phone. A few seconds later his face brightened somewhat. "Oh, yes that is good news. I'll tell the others." He hung up, "That was Virgil, Alec is alive and is going to make a full recovery."

"That's right," said Steve, "I forgot that it's all a game."

"We all did," said Julie, "Alec was lucky. The next one who 'buys the farm' might not be so lucky."

The end of chapter 4. Next chapter the hunt is on for Ryan, while the players keep fighting to stay alive. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	5. Chapter 5: Location, Location, Location

Last time Virgil located the source of the computer virus, 17 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Andrew and Jill came back from their honeymoon. Meanwhile in the game the players found a good place to hold up until Virgil and Violet can get them out of the game. Just as it seems that all was safe, Alec was attacked and killed by zombies. In the real world Aaron managed to revive Alec. On with the show!

Chapter 5: Location, Location, Location

"In a few minutes," said Max, "We'll hear that Ryan is in custody."

"You really think those Homeland Security agents will catch him?" asked Shawn, "They couldn't catch Olaf."

"Olaf was an idiot," said Jill, "Who survived as long as he did on blind luck and shear stubbornness. No, Ryan Rosensweg will be caught."

"I doubt it," said Virgil, "People like him aren't so easily captured. Ryan is way too smart for his own good, that rat won't allow himself to be caught."

Just then Max's cell phone rang. He answered and the news wasn't good. "That was the agents," he said, "They found Ryan's shack and the computer where the virus was sent from. Unfortunately Ryan wasn't there. But that's not the worst part. There was a bomb in the shack. Nobody was killed, but everything in the shack was destroyed."

"I knew it!" exclaimed Virgil, "I knew that rat wouldn't allow himself to be caught."

"So what do we do now?" asked Jill, "How do we find someone who can out-think Virgil?"

Jill's words seemed to have struck a nerve or two in Virgil. "Don't ever say that again, Jill! Don't ever say that that rat is superior to me!! I'm ten times better than he'll ever be!!" 

"Um, okay," said Jill hesitantly, "I never said he was better than you, just hard to catch."

Virgil, having recovered from his outburst, sunk back into his chair. "I'm sorry, Jill. It's just that, that rat makes me so mad. I'm just stressed out, I need a minute to pull myself together."

Just then Violet's phone rang, it was her brother Klaus. "Really… Sunny drew that…? Well send them over, we'll take a look at them."

After returning from the mission were The Ramblers rescued Andrew from that mist shrouded parallel Earth, Violet discovered that her sister Sunny had the ability to draw images of the future. The pictures Sunny made were very accurate of events that would happen a day later.

Three minutes later Violet received an E-mail from Klaus. The attachment contained Sunny's latest prediction. It was a highly detailed map of the United States, drawn in red and blue crayons. But the interesting thing was the line crisscrossing the map in green crayon.

"That's the path of the virus," said Virgil.

"There's more," said Violet, for there was a second drawing in the attachment. This one was a detailed map of the east coast of the U.S., specifically of the Maryland/Virginia/D.C. area. This time there was one purple line from downtown Washington, straight to Baltimore. There was a third and final map, this one of downtown Baltimore. A yellow X marked an apartment building near the Inner Harbor, with the number 1408 written next to it.

"What does it all mean?" asked Shawn.

"Don't you get it?" asked Violet, "That whole ploy of redirecting the path of the virus was just to throw us off Ryan's trail. He's not in Nevada or anywhere in that part of the country. He's in Baltimore."

"How can that be?" asked Andrew, "I mean, how can a three-year old know how to locate a cyber terrorist?"

"Sunny's an amazing little girl," said Jill, "It doesn't surprise me that she has this kind of ability, considering what her siblings can do."

"It's worth looking into. Jill, Andrew, you're with me. I'll call Sally-Ann and have her meet us at that address. If Ryan is there, he's going down."

"Remember your promise, Max," said Virgil, "I want Ryan alive."

"We know," said Andrew, "You want to be the one who kills him."

Just after Max, Andrew and Jill left, the computer connected to the UGE began to beep again. "Oh Sh$t!" exclaimed Violet, "The virus just affected the game again. Now there's more zombies than before!"

Back in the game Michael and the remaining players had just finished securing the building where they decided to hold up in, when Violet called and warned them on the increased numbers of ghouls.

"Thanks for the head's up, Violet," said Michael, "We'll be ready for them."

"How many zombies are there now?" asked Fay, her knives out and ready for some ghoul slaying.

"Too many to handle if we're surrounded," said Michael, "If they come at us en mass, we're done for."

"Bring them on!" exclaimed Steve as he re-loaded his guns, "I'm itching for some payback after what they did to Alec."

"Remember," said Denise, "It's still just a game, Alec is fine."

"I know," said Steve, "But I still want to kill the bastards."

"We all do," said Julie as she cocked her riffle, "And I think we're about to get our chance." Sure enough the moans of the walking dead were getting louder, as more and more zombies converged on the office building.

"We've secured all the doors leading to this floor," said Fay, "All but the one we came up through. They'll' have a bitch of a time breaking in through the others."

"Good," said Michael, "We'll force the ghouls to funnel into one access point, it'll make it easier for us to destroy them."

If only all thing went according to plan. But then life would be boring, would it not? Anyway, the ghouls stated pouring in from the opening. The players had their hands full shooting the zombies, but they were able to hold their own, at first.

After five minutes the ghouls still kept coming. Even with unlimited ammunition for their weapons, Michael and the others couldn't kill the zombies fast enough. For every walking dead they destroyed, at least two more took its place. It didn't take long for the players to begin falling back to the next floor up.

Then the unthinkable happened. As Julie walked backwards, her riffle destroying one ghoul after another, she failed to notice the discarded pen that was in her path. Her right foot stepped on the pen and she tripped, landing on her rear, her riffle flying out of her hands.

That single second of distraction on Julie's part was all that was needed for her doom. With a hole in the incoming bullets, a zombie rushed forward and bit Julie on her leg just below the knee. She screamed in pain as the ghoul sank it's festering teeth into her leg. Her spring-loaded pistols shot into her hands and she blew away the ghouls' head.

"Fall back!" shouted Michael, "Get to the next floor!! Fay! Get Julie!!"

Fay rushed over to Julie and tried to help her up. "Leave me," said Julie as she tried to stop the blood that was gushing from her assaulted leg, "I'm good as dead."

"The hell you are!!" snapped Fay, "I'm not leaving you behind!!"

It was then that Julie did something that would have been somewhat alright, assuming this was all real. But since this was a game of sorts, it really wasn't. Placing the barrel of her left pistol to her head, Julie, who had forgotten that this whole situation was just a game, pulled the trigger.

"NO!!" exclaimed Fay as Julie went limp in her arms. She was covered in Julie's brains, blood and skull fragments, "NO!! JULIE!!!"

Back in the real world Julie's life sign monitors flat lined. "Here we go again!" said Aaron as he and his medical team unhooked Julie from the UGE. Placing her on the floor, Aaron began administering CPR.

"What happened this time?" asked Shawn, "Was she 'killed' by more zombies?"

"Worse," said Virgil, "Julie was bitten and she took her own life, rather than face turning into a ghoul."

"Sh$t!!" exclaimed Aaron, "She's not responding to CPR! De-fibulater!!" An assistant brought over a set of shock paddles to try and restart Julies' heart.

"Charge to 120!" said Aaron as he placed the shock paddles on Julie's chest, "Clear!!" He pressed the button on the paddles, sending an electrical charge through her torso, yet her heart still wasn't beating. "Charge to 140!! Clear!!" He pressed the button again. This time Julie's heart managed to beat again, but for only a few seconds.

"Charge to 160!!" shouted Aaron as Julie's heart flat-lined, "Clear!!" He sent a third charge through Julie. This time her heart kept beating, and her lungs began to fill with air.

"Okay," sighed Aaron with relief, "we've got her stabilized, for now."

"Don't relax just yet, Aaron," said Virgil, "Fay's stress levels are off the chart!"

Back in the game Fay's stress levels were more than off the chart. The sight of Julie killing herself had set off something in Fay that had been long forgotten, an inner rage that earned her the nickname 'The Butcher of Boston.'

"You f#ck$ng bastards!!" raged Fay, her guns tossed aside and her knives ready to get some killing done, "You'll all pay!!" Howling with rage, she leapt into the increasing swarm of Ghouls.

"Fay!!" shouted Steve.

"She's gone!!" exclaimed Michael, "And we'll be the same if we don't get out of here!!!" He, Steve and Denise ran for the last flight of stairs leading up that hadn't been blocked. After reaching the top of the stairs they blocked the stairway as best they could.

"Oh god!!" exclaimed Denise, "Julie! Fay! They're dead!"

Back in the real world Fay was indeed in trouble. Being the Meta-Human she was, Fay could handle the increased stress levels. But her mind was unable to cope with the horror inflicted on her in the game. Surrounded by walking dead, with no line of retreat, Fay fought as best as she could, stabbing and slicing at the heads of the ghouls.

Yet her efforts didn't last long. Several zombies attacked from behind and bit into her back, shoulder and legs. She fell to the floor, her arms still stabbing and slashing, even though hungry zombies covered them. Within seconds the ghouls had devoured her.

"Charge to 140!!" exclaimed Aaron as he placed the shock-paddles on Fay's chest, "Clear!!" He sent the electrical charge through her body, yet Fay's heart wouldn't start again.

Four more times Aaron used the defibulator, yet to no avail. "Adrenaline!!" exclaimed Aaron, "NOW!!" One of the assistants brought Aaron a needle full of adrenaline. Making sure there was no air in the syringe, Aaron held the needle over Fay's heart, slammed the syringe into her chest. He pressed the plunger, sending several milligrams of adrenaline into her heart.

Almost as soon as Aaron withdrew the needle from her chest that Fay's heart began beating again. She coughed, her lungs breathing as well.

"That was f#ck$ng trippy," said Aaron, "Both Fay and Julie were lucky. The next one do 'die' in the game won't if things keep getting worse."

"Jill," said Violet out loud, "Hurry."

The end of chapter 5. Next chapter Max, Jill and Andrew close in on Ryan. Will they capture the rat? Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	6. Chapter 6: Charm City Showdown

Last time we found out that Ryan wasn't in Nevada. In fact, he's in Baltimore. Sunny located the rat. Meanwhile in the game Julie and Fay were 'killed' by the zombies. Aaron managed to save them from dieing for real. On with the show!

Chapter 6: Charm City Showdown

"Smell that Chesapeake Bay air," said Andrew as he, Max and Jill walked down the streets of Baltimore, "It really makes one feel alive."

"I know what you mean," said Max as he and Andrew sniffed the air of their hometown, "It smells like home."

"You may like it here," said Jill, "But London will always be home for me, now that city has air that revitalizes the soul."

"So, what's the plan on catching the rat?" asked Andrew as they reached the apartment building specified by Sunny's drawings. It was an ordinary looking, middle-class residential building.

"He'll be expecting a raid," said Max, "that the police and government agents will bust in. The apartment is probably booby trapped as well."

"Leave the traps to me," said Andrew, "You two just concentrate on grabbing the rat."

The entered the building cautiously, walked up the stairs to the 14th floor, and walked up to the 8th door down the hallway. "Leave this to me," said Jill. She rang the doorbell, there was no answer, and so she rang it again.

It was quiet in the hallway, quiet enough for Max to hear footsteps approaching from the other side of the door. Someone was looking through the peephole on the door. He then heard running footsteps, whoever saw them must have realized that the three Meta-Humans meant trouble.

"He's running!!" shouted Max. He then kicked the door, shattering it into countless splinters. He ran into the apartment, just in time to see someone jump out the window. He reached the window to see a man running down the fire escape. "I got this," said Max as he jumped onto the fire escape.

"He'll be fine," said Andrew, "Ryan Rosensweg is as good as caught."

"I'm not worried about Max," said Jill, "I'm scared about this bomb that's going to explode in 25 seconds."

True enough, there was a large pile of C4 stacked next to a complex set of computers. The timer hooked into the explosives was down to 21 seconds.

"Amateur," said Andrew as he calmly removed the wires connecting the timer to the C4, "He forgot to put in a backup detonator."

"You could tell that from just a glance?" asked an amazed and impressed Jill, "No wonder I love you so much!" She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

He kissed back with equal passion, but stopped after a few seconds. "This really isn't the time or the place, Jill."

"I know," said Jill, "But then again we never finished our honeymoon."

"True," said Andrew, "But they'll be time for that later, I promise."

"I'll hold you to that promise," said Jill.

Meanwhile, Max reached the streets before the rat got off the fire escape. Ryan jumped down form the metal ladder and was about to make his escape into the streets of Baltimore when Max blocked his path. Ryan Rosensweg did indeed have the face of a rat, with shaggy, unkempt hair and beady black eyes. He smelled like he hadn't had a decent shower in days, weeks even.

"Where do you think you're going, pal?" asked Max. Ryan panicked and ran in the opposite direction. He didn't get very far, for Max used his superior speed to get in front of the running man.

Three times this happened, Ryan running away and Max catching up with him. Finally Max had him cornered in a dead end alley. Seeing that he was trapped like the rat he was, Ryan pulled out a pistol and shot at Max.

Max caught the bullet easily. "Is that all you got?" asked Max. He didn't wait for a reply as he thrust his fist at Ryan without actually hitting him. The air displacement from such a strong thrust forced Ryan off his feet and into the garbage-strewn pavement.

He tried to crawl towards his gun, but something knocked the pistol away from Ryan. The rat looked up to see a woman with a shotgun, aimed for his head. "Go ahead," said Sally-Ann Carpenter as she pumped a shell into the chamber of her shotgun, "Make my century."

"How did you get there?" asked Max as Sally-Ann handcuffed Ryan, "This is a dead end alley."

"The same way you got down from 14 stories," said Sally-Ann, "I jumped and landed on my feet."

Just then Jill and Andrew caught up with Max and Sally-Ann. "You caught the bastard!!" exclaimed Andrew.

"Actually your cousin caught the rat," said Max, "It's Sally-Ann you should be congratulating."

Jill meanwhile had pulled out her cell phone. "Hi, Violet, tell Virgil that Ryan is in custody."

Back at the Bureau Violet was grinning ecstatically. "I'm sure Virgil will love to hear that! See you soon."

She hung up the phone; "Virgil! Max and Jill are on their way back with the rat in tow."

Virgil didn't say anything, but had a look on his face that shouted 'Finally!! Thank you, God!!'

"So they captured Ryan Rosensweg," said Shawn, "One of the most wanted terrorists has finally been caught. Shouldn't somebody call Homeland Security? Or the FBI at least?"

"You can call the FBI, CIA, NSA, and the Dallas Police for all I care," said Virgil, "But not until I'm finished with the rat, which might be a while."

Just then Aaron came into the room. "Alec is awake and on the road to recovery. Fay and Julie are out of danger and should be waking up in a few hours."

"That's good," said Violet, "but how are they mentally? I mean, if I were stuck in a game that was all too real and was killed by a zombie, I'd be messed up in the head."

"They'll go through intense therapy," said Aaron, "Its standard Bureau policy for its agents who experience such intense psychological trauma. I'm no head shrink, but I believe Alec, Fay and Julie will be alright. Those three are tough birds."

"Well I've got good news of my own," said Violet, "Max, Jill and Andrew are on their way back with Ryan Rosensweg. We should have Steve, Denise and Michael out of the game in no time."

"Excellent," said Aaron, "How are those three doing?"

"They're safe for the minute," said Virgil, "Right now the game is running a 'cut scene,' one of those dialog parts of a video game."

Just then the computer for the UGE beeped in alarm again. "God-f#ck$ng-damn it!!!!!" shouted Virgil, "The virus just disabled the communications link!!!!"

"So we can't talk to Michael and the others anymore?" asked Shawn, "That's just f#ck$ng great!"

"We can still see what's going on in the game," said Violet, "But that's about it. Michael, Steve and Denise are on their own now."

Meanwhile, the seemingly less hoards of walking dead had forced Michael, Steve and Denise up to the top floor of the building. They barricaded the stairs as best they could, but knew it was a matter of time before the crushing waves of zombies broke through. The moans of the zombies echoed from downstairs.

"This won't hold them long," said Michael as he surveyed the makeshift barricades, "Well, we tried anyway."

"So that's it?" asked Steve, "We're giving up!?!"

"If Virgil and the others had a way to get us back to the real world," said Michael, "They would have done it already. Let's face facts, Steve; we're as good as dead. However, if we're doomed to die in this damn game, let's make sure we get a decent high score."

"Now you're talking my language," said Denise eagerly, "If the bastards want to eat us so badly, then they'll have to earn their supper!!"

"Well," sighed Steve, "If you got to die, then you got to die. Just let me borrow the phone, Michael. If I'm about to be ripped to pieces by ghouls, I should at least update my last will and testament."

Michael gave the phone to Steve, how hit the call button. To Steve, he was calling his lawyer. Unfortunately Steve didn't get a connection to the real world or his lawyer. "F#ck$ng cell phones," said Steve, "They never work when you really need them."

It was then that the three players noticed that the moans from downstairs were getting louder. "They're coming," said Michael, "Let's give them a reception they'll never forget.

"Oh f#ck!!" exclaimed Virgil, "They're so immersed into the game that they've totally forgotten that it's a game! They're good as dead!"

"Don't give up just yet," said Shawn, "I just heard from the administration level, Max and his group are bringing the prisoner down as we speak."

Five minutes later Max, Jill, Andrew and Sally-Ann escorted the handcuffed Ryan Rosensweg into the lab. Virgil looked towards his longtime enemy, his face twisted with disgust and anticipation. "Hello, Ryan," said Virgil in a cold, pitiless tone, "I've been waiting for this day a long time."

"Uh, Virgil," said Ryan in a high voice that seemed to fit his rat-like face all too well, "This is rather unexpected. I guess I'm in trouble."

"You have no idea how right you are," said Virgil.

The end of chapter 6. Next chapter it all comes together as Michael and the remaining players fight to the last, while Virgil attempts to force Ryan to undo the virus. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!


	7. Chapter 7: Game, Set and Match

Last time Max, Jill and Andrew caught Ryan Rosensweg. Truth is it was Sally-Ann who actually caught the rat. Meanwhile in the game, the virus disables the player's means of communicating with the real world. Michael, Steve and Denise, unaware that there's still hope for their rescue, prepare to fight to the death against the endless hoards of walking dead. On with the show!

Chapter 7: Game, Set and Match

Five minutes later Max, Jill, Andrew and Sally-Ann escorted the handcuffed Ryan Rosensweg into the lab. Virgil looked towards his longtime enemy, his face twisted with disgust and anticipation. "Hello, Ryan," said Virgil in a cold, pitiless tone, "I've been waiting for this day a long time."

"Uh, Virgil," said Ryan in a high voice that seemed to fit his rat-like face all too well, "This is rather unexpected. I guess I'm in trouble."

"You have no idea how right you are," said Virgil. He then took off his sunglasses, revealing his metal eyes, to show that he means serious business.

"Damn, Virgil!!" exclaimed Ryan, "What happened to your eyes!?! They look weird!!"

"Shut the f#ck up you cheese sh$tt$ng rat!!!" snapped Virgil, "There's only one reason why I didn't kill you just now on general principal. You infected my invention with a virus, and you're going to cure that virus, assuming you have any wish to continue your pathetic excuse of a life."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Ryan in a false voice of innocence, "I'm just a harmless nerd."

"This is one of the reasons why I hate you, Ryan," said Virgil, "You talk and talk, but you never say anything. For once in your life say something useful. Tell me how to remove the virus, and you might just live long enough to stand trial for your crimes."

"What crimes?" asked Ryan in that same false innocence, "I've done nothing wrong."

"Then permit me to prove you wrong," said Virgil, "I've gathered evidence that connects you to the 9/11 attacks. You remember that day; you were cheering the terrorists on. Also, there's evidence that proves that you've committed just about every computer crime that can be committed, and a few others that you've invented. In short, I've got enough dirt on you to have you shot right here, right now."

"I don't think so," said Ryan, a nasty smile on his rat-like face, "You can't touch me if I ask for my lawyer, and I want my lawyer."

"Sorry to disappoint you, scumbag," said Andrew, "But you gave up your Constitutional rights the minute you sided with the terrorists. I could take my gun and blast your brains out, and nobody would care."

"You see, Ryan," said Virgil, "You made a big mistake hacking into The Bureau. We're slightly above the law, answering only to the top of the government, and I'm sure the President wouldn't shed half a teardrop for you. So, if you have any wish to stay alive, you'll tell me what I want to know."

"No," said Ryan, "I won't say anything that'll help you."

Just then Fay came barging into the room, and for someone who, in her mind, was killed by zombies, she seemed to be in very good health. "Is that it?" asked Fay, a knife in her hand pointing at Ryan, "Is that the rat that trapped us in that nightmare!? 'Cause if it is, then it's a dead rat!!"

"Not yet, Fay," said Virgil, "First, Ryan is going to help us save Michael, Steve and Denise. Then the two of us can have fun with it."

"Better make him talk soon," said Violet as she checked the UGE computer, "The 'cut scene' is almost finished, and, Damn!! The virus just disabled the infinite ammunition feature!!"

At that Ryan let out a particularly annoying giggle.

"You c#ck-sucking bastard!!!" raged Virgil, he then punched Ryan in the face, breaking the rat's nose, "Tell me how to end this, now!!"

"No way," laughed Ryan, not caring about the blood dripping from his nose, "This is way too funny."

"I'll show you funny," said Virgil, his voice colder than ice, "Laura, Shawn, hold this son-of-a-bitch down. Fay, led me one of your sharpest knives."

Laura and Shawn used their telekinetic powers to force Ryan to lie down on one of the tables in the lab, restraining him so he couldn't move. Fay then gave Virgil her sharpest knife, a blade with an edge that could slice through a lead pipe.

"Now, Ryan," said Virgil, "I'm gonna ask you again to put an end to this madness. If you don't help me deactivate the virus, I will start cutting you into little pieces, starting by removing your fingers, one at a time."

"F#ck you," said Ryan in a tone that didn't care.

"You just lost your left pinky," said Virgil, who then sliced off Ryan's left end digit. Ryan didn't scream, but his face contorted in pain as blood began to squirt from his assaulted hand. "That's one finger down," said Virgil, "Nine more to go. Then we have the toes, followed by more sensitive areas of the body. Now, will you help deactivate the virus?"

"You're getting blood all over the place," said Ryan.

"Any mess can be cleaned up," said Virgil, "And you just lost your left ring finger." He then sliced off the stated digit.

Back in the game the zombies had broken through the barricades and were closing in of the remaining players. Steve and Denise had moved to the foot of the stairs that led to the rooftop, shooting with their guns, providing cover for Michael as he slashed away with his energy swords.

Just then Steve and Denise's weapons clicked empty. "We're out of ammo!!" exclaimed Steve as he and Denise reloaded.

"Get up to the roof!!" shouted Michael. Steve and Denise didn't argue as they ran up the stairs. They burst out onto the rooftop, only to hear the door slam shut behind them. Michael had locked the door from his side, jumped down the short staircase and destroyed it with his swords, cutting the zombies off from that access point to the roof.

"He sacrificed himself for us," said Steve, "I honestly didn't realize he cared that much."

"There's one other staircase from which the ghouls can get up here," said Denise, "And I don't see anything to block the door. So, I guess this is it."

"I guess so too," said Steve.

Back downstairs Michael was fighting with all his strength, his swords a green and blue blur as he destroyed one zombie after another. Yet more and more kept coming, while several headed towards the last staircase to the roof. Michael knew that he only delayed the end for Steve and Denise, while his own strength wouldn't last much longer. Yet he decided to take as many ghouls as he could before his time came.

Back in the real world Ryan had started screaming in agony as Virgil removed the rat's left pointer finger, leaving only the thumb on the hand. "Does that hurt?" asked Virgil, not caring that his clothes were covered in blood, "Does that hurt? You want me to stop? Then tell me how to stop the virus."

"Go to hell you blind f#ck!!" exclaimed Ryan.

"My original sight may have been taken away from me," said Virgil, "But my vision is as strong as ever. Now, say goodbye to your thumb," and he sliced off said thumb. Again Ryan screamed in pain.

"Believe me when I say that I take no pleasure in this," said Virgil, "I just want you to tell me how to stop the virus. If you tell me what I want to know, I'm sure Aaron would sew your fingers back on."

"I'll tell you nothing!!" snapped Ryan, "So just kill me now!!!"

"We're not getting anywhere with this f#ck#r," said Fay, "So let's cut to the chase, and cut his balls off."

"NO!!!" exclaimed Ryan, a look of true fear on his rat-like face, "Not that!! Not my wedding tackle!!" 

"So you do have a weakness," said Virgil, "Well then, since you've been uncooperative, we'll just cut to the chase. Fay, you have my permission and blessing to castrate the rat."

"With pleasure," said Fay, a mad glint in her nearly black eyes, "Since you're using my sharpest knife, I'll use one that's not as sharp. Believe me," she said to Ryan as she pulled out a blade that looked to be in need of sharpening, "This will not be quick."

"Alright!!" screamed Ryan, "I'll talk!! I'll tell you how to delete the virus!! Just don't take my balls!!!"

"I knew you could be reasoned with," said Virgil, "Now be so kind as to tell Violet how to decontaminate the UGE."

Meanwhile…

"I've got half a magazine of bullets left in my 9mm pistol," said Denise, "And one full one in my pocket. That's all I have left."

"I've also got a full clip in my pistol," said Steve, "And my power pole." He gave his gun to Denise and then activated his metal quarterstaff. They stood facing the door to downstairs. They locked it form the outside, but the pressing masses of the ghouls were on the verge of breaking the door down.

"Denise," said Steve, "Since we're about to die, I just want to say that I'm sorry."

"What for?" asked Denise.

"For all this," said Steve, "If we didn't bring you and Alec here to our Earth, none of this wouldn't have happened."

"If you didn't rescue Alec and myself from that mist shrouded hellhole," said Denise, "We'd still be dead. No, Steve, I'm glad I came to this Earth, and I'm glad to have met you."

"Really?" asked Steve, "Well I'm glad to have met you also." The moans and pounding of the walking dead got louder as the door blocking them began to splinter.

"This probably isn't the time to ask," said Steve, "But if by some miracle we survive, Denise, would you go out with me?"

"Depends," said Denise as she smiled, "What do you have in mind?"

"I don't know," said Steve who was surprised that she didn't say 'no', "Dinner and a movie I guess."

"Sounds good to me," said Denise, "Consider it a date."

Steve was about to make an appropriate remark, when the door gave way, spilling the moaning ranks of waking dead onto the roof.

Downstairs Michael was still fighting, yet he knew it was almost over for him, his strength was about to give out. _God,_ he prayed to himself, _if you help me get out of this, I shall never take your name in vain again._

Back in the real world…

"Okay," said Violet, "I've calculated pi to the 42nd place. What next?"

"Multiply it by 216 and hit ENTER," said Ryan, his fingerless hand wrapped in blood-soaked gauze, "That'll delete the virus."

"Just so you know," said Virgil as Violet made the necessary calculations, "If this doesn't work, you'll still be taken apart, starting with your balls."

"It'll work," said Ryan in a desperate tone, "It has to work."

Violet finished the calculations and pressed the Enter button. Max and everyone in the room waited with bated breath as the computer ran the program. Nothing happened for several seconds before the red pop-up windows on Virgil's laptop turned green. "It worked!!" exclaimed Violet, "The virus has been purged!!"

"Get them out of that game now!!!" yelled Max. Virgil didn't need to be told twice as he hit the necessary buttons to end the game and bring Michael, Steve and Denise back to the real world.

At first Steve didn't know what was happening. One minute he was bashing away with his power pole, with Denise beside him, the next he was back in The Bureau. "What happened?" he asked as his vision cleared and saw Max and the others, "Did I win the game?"

"Yes and no," said Violet, "Yes because you survived, and no because Michael got a higher score than you did."

"Then I'll just have to try harder next time," said Steve. Next to him Denise started laughing, while everyone else kept their faces serious.

"Virgil," said Michael, "The next time you want to test out a new videogame, shove it up your ass!!!"

"I may just do that," said Virgil. He then turned his glaring metal eyes on Ryan. "As for you, you goat-sucking rat traitor, as soon as Aaron sews your fingers back on, I'm handing you over to Homeland Security."

"You're not going to kill me?" asked Ryan.

"I've got enough of your blood on me already," said Virgil with much disgust in his voice, "I'm probably gonna have to burn my clothes. No Ryan, you've got a lot to answer for, so you're going to live."

EPILOGUE TIME

One hour later, after Aaron reattached his fingers, Sally-Ann escorted Ryan to Homeland Security, where she claimed the reward. She spent the money well, but preferred to keep her reasons to herself.

Ryan was tried for multiple counts of treason and crimes against humanity. He was sentenced to life without parole, and without any access to technology.

Fay, Julie and Alec would make complete recoveries, and would soon be back to work. Unknown to the rest of The Bureau, Julie and Fay's relationship would be much closer from then on.

Steve and Denise would have their date and would also develop a close relationship.

Michael would be fine.

As for the UGE, Violet and Virgil decided that it would be for the best if their invention was buried for the time being, at least until the world was ready for such advanced gaming technology. After all, progress should be moderated.

The End

I hope you weren't too scared by what you just read. I did warn you after all, but I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I did writing it. Until the next idea that pops into my head…


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